ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Edward J. Herdrich is an Honorably Discharged member of the United States Army Military Police Corps. While serving, he was a member of the Drug Suppression Team, AWOL Apprehension Team, and the Special Reactions Team. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a double major in Criminal Justice and English. He was a Licensed Private Detective for more than 20 years, specializing in Criminal Defense Investigations, Fraud, Difficult Services of Process, and Locate Investigations. He has been an instructor at local community colleges for more than 10 years and is the published author of several non-fiction short stories, articles, and interviews relating to private investigations. He is the self-published author of a non-fiction book on becoming a Private Detective in the state of Illinois, as well as a mystery/thriller novel. He is the proud father of six children, each of whom he admires for their uniqueness. He has always believed that being a writer and an investigator is much the same - you have to remain observant, open-minded, and genuinely desirous and curious to find the truth. In his work, as in his life, he encountered a wide variety of people and circumstances and developed a greater appreciation for the human condition and understanding of cultures he was exposed to. In the short stories and novels involving Samantha “Sam” Rose Johnson, he writes the story line from his experience as a Licensed Private Detective while allowing Sam, a character largely created through and inspired by the author’s association with three women of color, to have her own voice. In the same way, the character of Taela, a young Lakota teen, comes to life in the author’s young adult trilogy currently being created.